The Resurrected Phantom Fuhrer
is the eleventh episode of the 1979 Cyborg 009 anime TV series. Plot Summary Dr. Gilmore receives a letter from Professor Reinhardt, an old colleague from World War II, about his research after his death. Gilmore sends 004 to Düsseldorf, Germany to protect Professor Reinhardt's daughter Lena and the scientific secrets of Wagnium, only for Albert to uncover a plot by the remnants of the Nazis to use Wagnium to revive Hitler! Episode Recap The story opens on a car chase where an old man with a bloodied forehead in a blue Volkswagen Beetle tries to outrun a military truck chasing him. Realizing he cannot outrun them on the winding mountain roads, he pulls out a pen from his pocket and hides it in-between the seat cushions of his car. The truck comes alongside the Beetle and repeatedly swerves to ram it into the guard railing, finally succeeding in driving the vehicle off the cliff side of the mountain road and crashing to the ground. The car then catches fire and explodes. The truck stops, and a group of Nazi soldiers come out to search the body of the dying man. Their commanding officer is disappointed to learn from his men that the man they were chasing isn't carrying "the letter" on his person and demands them to search harder. This order is made moot when a couple pulls over to see the burning car and shouts if the man who had the accident is okay. Not wanting to get caught as many government agencies are hunting the Nazis down, the commander orders his troops to retreat for now. The man regains consciousness for a brief moment before dying from his injuries, saying one last word: "L...Lena.." At Gilmore Laboratories, Albert is getting a routine diagnostic check of his cybernetic systems and a surgical removal and replacement of one of his shoulder joint components. Joe aids Dr. Gilmore by monitoring Albert's brain activity and heart rate while Dr. Gilmore operates on Albert. After the repairs are completed, Dr. Gilmore thanks Albert for being so patient and he will have a working shoulder part for another two years. Gilmore regrets the fact he cannot figure out a means to create an alloy that can endure longer for Albert's parts to stay in working condition. Albert does not think it is a good idea to be reminded that he is a machine after 009 says that despite everyone's limitations on the team, they are all cyborgs. Francoise calls on the intercom to let Dr. Gilmore know there is a telephone call waiting for him from the Federal Police of Germany. The police have found a letter inside a fountain pen from the wreckage of a blue Beetle, with the letter addressed to Dr. Gilmore. Dr. Gilmore requests a faxed copy from the police, which his computer then prints out. Joe reads the letter and it is from an old colleague of Dr. Gilmore from World War II, Dr. Reinhardt. The letter requests that Dr. Gilmore protect Dr. Rienhardt's invention of Wagnium, which "lies with his daughter Lena" at his castle estate near Dusseldorf, Germany. Dr. Gilmore explains that both he and Dr. Reinhardt worked on trying to develop Wagnium over thirty years ago to develop what would become his cybernetics technology. But during World War II, he and Reinhardt were captured by the Nazis and forced to work for them in inhumane conditions. The Nazis seemingly wanted artificial limbs and organs developed so their injured soldiers could immediately return to the battlefield after a medical procedure using the technology. But they were lying as Dr. Gilmore eavesdropped on them one day and learned they wanted the technology for: Operation: Ubermensch, a horrifying plan to enhance Hitler's twisted vision of a master race as an army of powerful cybernetic killing machines to conquer the world. Dr. Gilmore told Professor Reinhardt and tried to plan for them to escape, but Reinhardt at first refused as his fiance was being held hostage by the Nazis and she would be killed if he left. The Allied forces arrived soon after and bombed the facility and Gilmore escaped in the confusion, but he never saw his friend again and believed him to be dead after spending years searching for him. Since Dr. Reinhardt had a daughter, he must have found his fiance, married her and completed his life's work of Wagnium in secret. Dr. Gilmore send Albert as 004 to investigate, who has taken interest in Wagnium as a potential replacement alloy for the construction of his cybernetic parts. Albert stops his car and enters a tavern in Dusseldorf, where he asks the bartender if he knows anything about a castle where a Ms. Lena Reinhardt would be. The bartender is reluctant to talk and nervously looks around. One of the patrons offers to help him, but not before asking Albert why he wants to go there. Albert brushes off the man's inquiry as it is none of his business. The brute seems to want to pick a fight with him as he again demands to know why. Albert has to pretend to be weak so he does not blow his cover and tells the rowdy barflies that he would rather ask Lena in person. This riles up the group and they take turns beating Albert up and then their leader pins him down under his foot. A woman demands they leave Albert alone and she asks if he is alright, with Albert introducing herself and figuring out that the woman is Lena. As they drive up to the castle, the thugs from the bar follow them in their truck. Lena explains that they are the servants of the castle and they are just overprotective of her and were hired by her "uncle", who is now the proprietor of the castle. Albert ponders if he should tell Lena her father is dead, as she does not seem to be aware of the tragedy that befell him. Once they arrive at the castle, Lena introduces Albert to Tomas, her uncle. Tomas apologizes for the behavior of the servants, as they are orphans he took in during the war. The butler, Karl, ensures his master that they will be reprimanded for their behavior later. Tomas explains that Lena's mother died at a young age, so Karl and Tomas have taken care of Lena for the past five years at the request of her father while he was working on top secret projects for the West German government. Tomas asks what Albert is doing here, and Albert calmly responds he is here to inform them of the passing of the late Dr. Reinhardt and to discuss certain matters with Lena. Lena is so shocked at the news of her father's death, she faints and falls into Albert's arms. Karl is suspicious as to how a stranger received the news of Dr. Reinhardt's death, but Albert dodges the subject and is more concerned with Lena's health and offers to carry her to her room. Karl decides to drop the subject and offers to escort Albert to Lena's room. Lena wakes up in her bed as Albert watches over her, then apologizes for fainting. She knows that Dr. Gilmore has sent Albert here on his behalf, but she cannot disclose the information he wants at this time and she cries as she is too scared to reveal it. Albert tells Lena to just rest and she can tell him when she is ready to. Karl has bugged Lena's room and is listening in on the conversation, telling the other servants that they can now wait until she spills the info to Albert. One of the servants thinks brute force and torture can make her tell them what they need to know. Karl says there is no need for violence if all goes well and "they have waited several decades for this moment" so they can wait just a little longer as patience is its own reward. Albert spends several days at the castle bonding with Lena and later spends the day going horseback riding with her. Karl has planted bugs on the horse saddles to eavesdrop on them no matter where they go. Albert has fun racing Lena on his horse and the two leap over a fence, with Albert clumsily being flung off his horse and into a pile of hay. Lena offers to help him out of the hay, but Albert then hesitates and declines as he remembers the hand he is reaching out to her with is his mechanical one. Realizing he's getting too attached to her and he could blow his cover, he pretends to be cold and uncaring and tells her he is not a man who can love anyone. Albert then tells her he only cares about finding her father's research, which upsets Lena. But, despite her heartbreak, she reveals that the secret of the Wagnium alloy formula is hidden inside her body, her entire body is implanted with Wagnium. Lena goes riding off, crying as her revealing she isn't all human upsets her even more. From one of the castle spires, Karl has a sinister smile as he has what he wants and informs his master Tomas, who is pleased and orders Karl to eliminate Albert as he is of no more use to them. Albert is sitting on a log near a lake, angry with himself for having feelings for Lena and hurting her feelings by acting cold to her. He questions if he isn't a human being with a heart if he cannot allow himself to have moments of happiness because of his true nature as a cyborg. Meanwhile, Lena runs into the castle crying and is about to run upstairs when Tomas asks what is wrong and comforts her. Albert is still upset he couldn't tell Lena he loves her. As he sits sulking, a small infantry of Nazis take aim with their guns in the forest surrounding Albert. The Nazis open fire and hit Albert, but the bullets only damage his equestrian coat and reveal him as Cyborg 004. Enraged, 004 attacks the Nazis in rapid succession, then crushes several of them using the trees he chops down with his electromagnetic knife. Now understanding what Lena is going through, 004 realizes like him, Lena didn't choose to be what she is and wants to be human as he races to the castle to rescue her. Karl then appears in a heavy artillery tank from underground to try to kill 004. At the castle, Tomas reveals to Lena that he too has been searching for Wagnium's secrets after Lena confesses she has been lying to her uncle about something. 004 cannot defeat the tank as its armor is too thick for his machine gun hand's fire, things get worse when a whole squadron of tanks appears behind the one he is fighting. 004 runs and dodges their fire, then uses his missiles to blow up one of the tanks. Lena is in a laboratory basement room of the castle frightened as her uncle pushes her into a chair and activates its restraints. Lena does not understand why her uncle is acting like this. Tomas reveals he is on the precipice of "creating a new Germany" and he was waiting until she revealed Dr. Reinhardt's secrets to fulfill that vision. He laughs maniacally as he is prepared to pull a lever on one of the lab computer consoles. Lena cries out for Albert to help her. 004 is running from the Nazi tank squadron's fire and then kills Karl with a missile and finishes off the last of the tanks. Tomas pulls the lever and Lena's chair converts into an operating table and reveals she is actually an android built by Dr. Reinhardt, which surprises her. Tomas reveals his mad scheme: he is actually a surviving member of the Nazis and he is going to use Wagnium to bring Hitler back to life in an immortal cybernetic body. He unveils from a hidden room a stasis pod with Adolf Hitler's corpse perfectly preserved inside of it and salutes his Fuhrer as he rambles that this time the Nazis will be triumphant. An enraged 004 sees this horror and finds it repulsive and unforgivable, determined to stop Tomas. 004 frees Lena, who hugs him. Tomas attacks 004 with his motorized wheelchair, which he converts into a death machine with spiked wheels to rush at him. 004 evades Tomas and then shoots his wheelchair's wheels off, causing him to crash into Hitler's stasis pod and sets the electronic wiring on fire, causing the body of the evil dictator to burn to ashes. With his plans foiled and no options left, Tomas decides to try to kill Lena and 004 by activating the castle's self-destruct lever. This fails as the two escape in the nick of time and Tomas dies in the blazing inferno of an explosion as half the castle is blown to pieces. At the train station, Albert says goodbye to Lena, who wants to stay in Dusseldorf and use the remains of the castle to build an orphanage so she can care for children. Albert decides to keep Wagnium a secret by not telling Dr. Gilmore and holds Lena's hand one last time before his train leaves the station. Lena waves goodbye and cries, saying that she still loves him as his train moves out of sight. Characters The 00 Cyborgs * Albert Heinrich (004) * Joe Shimamura (009) Allies *Dr. Isaac Gilmore *Lena Enemies The Nazis *Karl Notes *The mention of the Federal German Police dates the episode and gives the exact location of its setting: West Germany, as in 1979 Germany was still divided by the Berlin Wall and Dusseldorf was inside the region of West Germany. Video Release This episode was released on Disc Two of the Cyborg 009 1979 Collection Blu-Ray Vol. 1 set in Japan on November 11, 2015.http://shop.toei-video.co.jp/products/detail.php?product_id=15803 Toei Video Amazon Japan Category:Cyborg 009 (1979) Category:1979 Episodes